**Kevin Wayne Durant** also known by his initials **KD**, is an American professional [basketball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball) player for the [Houston Rockets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Rockets) of the [National Basketball Association](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Association) (NBA). Nicknamed "**the Slim Reaper**",[^(\[1\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-1) he is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players and one of the greatest scorers of all time.[^(\[2\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-NBA_&_ABA_Career_Leaders_and_Records_for_Points-2)[^(\[3\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-3)[^(\[4\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-4)[^(\[5\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-5) Durant has won two [NBA championships](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_champions), an [NBA Most Valuable Player Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Most_Valuable_Player_Award), two [NBA Finals Most Valuable Player Awards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Finals_Most_Valuable_Player_Award), two [NBA All-Star Game Most Valuable Player Awards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_All-Star_Game_Most_Valuable_Player_Award), four [NBA scoring titles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_National_Basketball_Association_annual_scoring_leaders), the [NBA Rookie of the Year Award](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Rookie_of_the_Year_Award), and is the only male basketball player to win [four Olympic gold medals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Olympic_medalists_in_basketball). He has been named to 12 [All-NBA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-NBA) teams (including six First Teams) and selected 16 times as an [NBA All-Star](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_All-Stars). In 2021, Durant was named to the [NBA 75th Anniversary Team](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_75th_Anniversary_Team). He ranks fifth among [NBA career scoring leaders](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_career_scoring_leaders).[^(\[2\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-NBA_&_ABA_Career_Leaders_and_Records_for_Points-2)

Durant was heavily recruited in high school. He played one season of [college basketball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/College_basketball) for the [Texas Longhorns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Longhorns_men's_basketball), during which he won numerous year-end awards and became the first freshman to be named [Naismith College Player of the Year](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naismith_College_Player_of_the_Year). Durant was selected as the second overall pick by the [Seattle SuperSonics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_SuperSonics) in the [2007 NBA draft](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_NBA_draft). He played nine seasons with the franchise (which became the [Oklahoma City Thunder](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Thunder) in 2008), leading them to a Finals appearance in [2012](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2012_NBA_Finals) and winning the MVP award for the [2013–2014 season](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013%E2%80%9314_NBA_season). In a controversial move, he later signed with the [Golden State Warriors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_State_Warriors) in 2016, who had won a record 73 regular season games the previous year. Durant won consecutive [NBA championships](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_championship) and Finals MVPs in [2017](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016%E2%80%9317_NBA_season) and [2018](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2017%E2%80%9318_NBA_season). After sustaining an [Achilles](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Achilles_tendon) injury in the [2019 NBA Finals](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_NBA_Finals), he joined the [Brooklyn Nets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brooklyn_Nets) as a free agent that summer. Following disagreements with the Nets' front office, he requested a trade during the 2022 offseason and was traded to the [Phoenix Suns](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_Suns) the following year. After two full seasons with Phoenix, Durant was traded to the [Houston Rockets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Rockets) in July 2025.

As a member of the [U.S. national team](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_men's_national_basketball_team), Durant has won four gold medals in the [Olympics](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_at_the_Summer_Olympics) (2012, 2016, 2020 and 2024), and is the leading scorer in Team USA's Olympic basketball history. In 2024, he became the first male athlete to win four Olympics gold medals in a team sport.[^(\[6\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-6)[^(\[7\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-7)[^(\[8\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-8) He also won gold at the [2010 FIBA World Championship](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_FIBA_World_Championship).

Off the court, Durant is one of the highest-earning basketball players in the world, due in part to an endorsement deal with [Nike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nike,_Inc.) which he signed in 2007; the partnership has continued for 19 years. He was named one of [*Time*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_100)'s 100 most influential people in the world in 2018 and has been listed by [*Forbes*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes) as one of the [world's ten highest-paid athletes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbes_list_of_the_world's_highest-paid_athletes) ten times.

# Houston Rockets (2025–present)

[](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kevin_Durant_Interview_in_2026_-_1.png)

Durant during an interview in 2026

On July 6, 2025, Durant was traded to the [Houston Rockets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Rockets) in a seven-team trade, the largest in NBA history.[^(\[259\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-259)[^(\[260\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-260) On October 19, Durant signed a two-year, $90 million contract extension with a player option for 2027–2028.[^(\[261\])](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kevin_Durant#cite_note-261)





Happy Birthday, Kevin Durant!